I enjoy painting during any free time I might have. I don’t necessarily consider myself an artist though. I paint just to relax and my paintings stay in the privacy of my bedroom. My niece once introduced me as her aunt, the artist. That seemed odd to me as she and her siblings are extremely talented artists, you know, those people who actually sell their artwork! I laughed and explained that I wasn’t really an artist. She asked if I enjoyed painting? I told her I did. Then she said, “If you enjoy painting and are expressing yourself through an artistic medium — you are an artist.” That stayed with me. I guess it is like my enjoyment of writing. I may not always be a paid author, but I enjoy writing.

Last night was one of those nights that I had an urge to paint. But unfortunately I didn’t have a new canvas on hand. So I looked at my wall and took down one of the paintings that I considered less desirable. I had tried to paint something on it before and didn’t like it so painted something else over it which was not much of an improvement. This time I thought I would simply paint it white so I could start with a fresh background. After I was done I hung it back up on the wall to dry. As I viewed it hanging on the wall I noticed some of the dark color bleeding through and the different textures that were visible from previous acrylic paint. Then the word, “whitewashed” came to my mind. Didn’t the Bible mention something about being whitewashed?

Matthew 23:27-28 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.” (NIV)

I could visibly see the mistakes that were under the coat of thin white paint. It made me think how we sometimes try to cover our sins by acting righteous, but the Lord sees through the coat of paint where we try to hide our sins . He sees into our hearts. Yet since he is so full of love and grace, he desires to completely blot out our transgressions. We just need to ask.

“Come now lets discuss this.” say the Lord. “Though your sins are bright red, they will become as white as snow. Though they are dark red, they will become as white as wool.” Isaiah 1:18 (GWT)

I sometimes struggle with the concept of truly being forgiven of past mistakes in my life, as I am sure so many people do at times. But what about….? Can God truly forgive? I want to be pure, but past sins sometimes knock at the door of my mind and haunt my soul like green mold on cheese. You think the entire chunk of cheese is no longer good to eat because of mold. But once you cut off the moldy part of the cheese – the rest is fine. If God has taken away that darkness from my life, why couldn’t I trust him with the rest of my life?

Once when I was struggling with this concept and was calling out to the Lord he revealed his truth to me while in prayer. I saw him standing in front of me as I was trying to explain to him the reason why I wasn’t able to be used and each time I would try to explain, he would put his finger to my lips to stop me from speaking about my faults. I’d try again and again he’d put his finger on my lips and whispered “Shhh”. He ignored my whining because he already was in my future and knew my past. He knows the plans he has for me, plans to prosper me and not to harm me, plans to give me a hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11)

The blood he shed doesn’t just cover our sins so they are not seen anymore, it literally erases our sins. He throws them into the sea.( Micah 7:19) I don’t understand how that is possible. I don’t understand his grace. I don’t understand his forgiveness. I don’t understand why he loves us so much. But HE DOES!

We become as clean as a new canvas that has never been painted as soon as we ask him into our lives. (2 Corinthians 5:17) He can then paint a beautiful picture about our lives. He can use the darkness of our past, the brokenness of our hearts, the foolish of our choices, the hopelessness of our souls and mix it with his blood and by his Spirit a masterpiece is created. How? Because he is the master of our lives and we are his artwork.

His masterpiece is YOU!

His masterpiece is ME!

How awesome are his masterpieces. We have been created by the hand of the Lord.